The 2013 Game Developers Conference in Cologne, Germany wrapped up on August 21st of this month and did quite well. The conference saw a record level of attendance with 2,250 people attending from 56 different countries. It's set to return to Cologne again next year.

This was the fifth year that the GDC Europe was held and close to 130 national and international speakers attended the convention, and it sported more that 75 exhibitors and sponsors.

"We were thrilled to see the bustling exhibit floor and receive such positive feedback about the valuable talks and networking opportunities at GDC Europe this year," said Meggan Scavio, general manager of Game Developer Conference events. "We deeply appreciate the support of our exceptional roster of international speakers and the guidance of our celebrated advisory board members. And we're already excited about next year!"

GDC Europe is scheduled to be in Cologne, Germany next year from August 11th through 13th, 2014.

The 2013 Game Developers Conference Europe (GDC Europe) closed Wed, Aug. 21 after another successful year. Approximately 2,250 attendees across at least 56 countries enjoyed the conference and exhibits, setting an attendance record for the annual show. Produced by UBM Tech Game Network, organizers of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference series, GDC Europe is the continent's leading game development event for industry professionals. Organizers have revealed that the conference will return to Cologne, Germany on Aug. 11-13, 2014, and is once again co-located with gamescom, the leading European interactive entertainment consumer trade show, set to take place Aug. 13-17, 2014.

In its fifth year, GDC Europe 2013 welcomed close to 130 national and international speakers and more than 75 exhibitors and sponsors. The conference featured more than 90 lectures and panels on the best practices in game development across five Main Conference tracks (Business, Marketing & Management, Design, Production, Programming and Visual Arts) and three summits (Free to Play Design & Business Summit, Smartphone and Tablet Games Summit and Independent Games Summit). VIP and All Access pass holders to GDC Europe and those with GDC Vault subscriptions will be able to access the video, audio and presentation recordings in the coming weeks.

"We were thrilled to see the bustling exhibit floor and receive such positive feedback about the valuable talks and networking opportunities at GDC Europe this year," said Meggan Scavio, general manager of Game Developer Conference events. "We deeply appreciate the support of our exceptional roster of international speakers and the guidance of our celebrated advisory board members. And we're already excited about next year!"

Hot topics included virtual reality games, cinematic game experiences, next gen consoles and the definition of next generation game development. International challenges and opportunities, publishing and marketing in mobile games, free to play and community management were also popular themes.

There were many talks that the attendees buzzed about on-site and on social media, including: Oculus VR co-founders Palmer Luckey and Nate Mitchell discussing a path forward for better VR games; Ubisoft's Far Cry 3 director Patrick Plourde's debut of the new JRPG title Child of Light, in development by a small team; Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls developer David Cage'scompelling talk on the future of cinematic games and why developers must learn from the film industry; celebrated industry vetDon Daglow's talk about next gen challenges and how to think beyond graphics; and Microsoft's Kevin Perry's talk about designing monetization for Age of Empires Online.